


Oh Lazarus Have You Risen Again?

by SuperstringSymphony



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: A Pair Of Marrieds Being Sappy, Allusions to Past Torture, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Just hinted at - Freeform, M/M, but it's not discussed in detail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-25 16:36:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14382666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperstringSymphony/pseuds/SuperstringSymphony
Summary: “Tony.”  He murmurs against the slight curls at Tony's temple.  “Do you really think after I spent three months looking for you, that I'd leave you over some new body jewelry?  Is that why you've been depriving me of my favorite show?”  He hugs Tony a little more tightly, pressing his palms in to the small of his back.Tony comes back from Afghanistan with more than a little baggage, but James Rhodes will not be deterred.





	Oh Lazarus Have You Risen Again?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rowantreeisme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rowantreeisme/gifts).



> So Rowan was in need of fluff and Iron Husbands which are both amazing things. I may have gotten a little carried away with the angst, but this is still very fluffy and full of love. Warnings for Angst and Tony being insecure, also BIG warning for these two being huge saps, you’ve been warned. Posted on my [tumblr](https://ilunabarrean.tumblr.com/) as well.
> 
> This takes place post Stane's death in Iron Man 1. Comments and kudos MUCH appreciated, I love them all!

Tony is standing at the stove when Rhodey wakes up and comes shuffling into the kitchen, yawning and making a beeline for the coffee maker. It's Sunday, and as is their custom, that means it's Tony's turn to make breakfast. Tony hasn't moved since he came in, staring down into the pan, watching four round flat discs of batter bubble up. For all people think that Tony can't cook, he's surprisingly fantastic at making all sorts of batter, and his perfectly symmetrical pancakes have to be seen to be believed.

It would all be routine, but Tony hasn't made their breakfast since he came back from Afghanistan, since Stane's death.

Rhodey freezes, hand halfway to the coffee pot, staring over at Tony's back for a long silent moment. Slowly he lets himself relax, taking a mug and filling it with precious caffeinated liquid, before sidling up behind Tony and wrapping his arms around his waist.

“You're wearing a shirt.” He says quietly, leaning in to kiss just behind Tony's left ear. “You never wear a shirt while making Sunday breakfast unless it's cold, I feel deprived of a show.” Rhodey hasn't seen Tony without something covering his chest since those first few harrowing days after rescuing him from the desert.

Tony's eyes close for a moment, and he moves almost mechanically to flip the four pancakes with quick efficient motions, but his hands are shaking. “Sorry.” Tony whispers, sucking air in through his teeth with a painful sounding rasp. “I think my career as your personal naked chef is canceled indefinitely.” It's strange looking at Tony now, seeing the haunted look perpetually in his eyes. It's there every time their gazes meet, every time they curl up in bed together, every time Rhodey goes to kiss Tony's stomach and pull his shirt off, only to be stopped by Tony's strong hands on his wrists.

“Well that's a shame, you're the only naked chef I want running around my kitchen, and now you don't have to turn the lights on and blind me when you come to bed at some hour only you think is reasonable.” Rhodey says, trying for levity. Tony's head bows, he stares down at the pan after transferring the pancakes to a large serving plate. Rhodey reaches past him to turn the burner off, before turning him around so they're facing each other. “Tony, baby what's wrong?” He knows the answer to that question could probably fill an entire book series, but something is definitely wrong in the immediate present. He _knows_ Tony the way he knows few other people, and the reverse is also true. A sharp clenching sensation curls somewhere deep in his chest when Tony's gaze darts away from his, and he's loved Tony for longer than he hasn't, he knows that expression like the back of his hand.

“Honeybear, there's nothing wrong, just...just making breakfast, like old times. I've been slacking since...since-” Tony says, voice cracking near the end.

“I'm not going to leave you.” Rhodey says bluntly. Tony's head snaps up, mouth dropping open, and eyes wide as saucers.

“What? I didn't, I didn't say that, of course you're not, I'm a catch.” To an outsider it might sound cocky, condescending even, but Rhodey knows he's hit the nail on the head when Tony sags against him.

“I just found you again, you ride with me, and I ride with you, always. Now tell me what's wrong, c'mon Tones, baby, my Tony.” He speaks against Tony's cheek, feeling the skin beneath his warm with a blush Tony will deny hotly if he ever brings it up. Between them the cool blue light of the arc pulses away, and Tony lets out a tiny almost inaudible sob, winding strong arms around him to clutch him close. It's a pained sound, but it's the first time since taking Tony from the desert that Tony has truly given a sign of what's going on in his head. The first few weeks back he had worked almost feverishly, sleeping down in the lab when he wasn't pacing the floor of the kitchen. Hearing him sob hurts, but the silence, the carefully cultivated detachment, the way he shrugged away from Rhodey's touches-that hurt a lot more.

“This isn't what you wanted, this isn't what I promised you.” Tony finally says, slipping a hand between their chests to press against the arc reactor. When Rhodey first saw it he thought it was a bomb. A beautiful blue bomb, but in that moment it was the ugliest thing he had ever seen. Now that glowing blue radiance is comforting, a sure sign that Tony is alive at his side, a testament to the strength and will of the man he's loved for over a decade.

“Tony.” He murmurs against the slight curls at Tony's temple. “Do you really think after I spent three months looking for you, that I'd leave you over some new body jewelry? Is that why you've been depriving me of my favorite show?” He hugs Tony a little more tightly, pressing his palms in to the small of his back. Behind them the sun limns Tony in gold when he leans back to stare into Rhodey's eyes. He remembers Tony standing in the desert. A tiny speck in the distance, but Rhodey had known his half conscious stagger. He remembers the sun beating down on him, pushing him down, sand and blood, the smell of burning. Tony has always burned in a way, but now his heart glows, beatiful and intense even on the darkest nights.

“It's brilliant technology, but it's-”

“Keeping you alive.” Rhodey finishes for him. “I love it, and I love you, even if you are a dumbass sometimes”

“Hey.” Tony grumbles, but there's a small tremulous smile on his face, and his eyes look a little damp.

“You're my dumbass and I love you.” He repeats, slipping his hands around to cup Tony's cheeks, leaning their foreheads together, thumbs rubbing under the hollows of Tony's eyes. Tony sighs, pressing into the touch, but his gaze flickers, a rueful smile pulling his lips to the side.

“I lost my wedding ring _._ It's stupid, I know-to be so upset about that, but it was _ours,_ and they took it during the surgery, and I-I thought I'd never see you again.” Whisper quiet, almost difficult to hear beneath the singing of early morning birds outside. Rhodey swallows thickly, pressing his thumbs against Tony's jaw, angling his head better for a kiss. Tony sinks into it immediately, drinking down the contact hungrily, as if he's starving, and Rhodey is back to their first kiss. Tony had been so touch starved, desperate for contact, and so painfully unsure. He's like this now, kissing as if it's a question, as if he could ever doubt that the only thing he's ever wanted was for them to never be separated.

They make it to the living room, half staggering, shedding clothing and wrapping around eachother on the plush overstuffed cushions when they tumble down onto couch. Tony covers his face with his hands when Rhodey slips his fingers beneath the hem of his shirt. His chest is heaving, and he's only in a tiny pair of red briefs, but he gasps when Rhodey rucks his shirt up over his stomach as if he's been laid bare.

“I love you.” Rhodey says fiercely, leaning down to kiss over Tony's stomach. “I thought you were dead, I searched for you, I missed you so much baby-and this-” He says, pressing Tony down onto the couch with his hips and running a hand up under Tony's tee to trace the skin around the arc reactor. “This is fucking beautiful Tones.”

“Mm'not pretty, you're the pretty one sour patch.” Tony's voice wavers, one eye peeking out from between his fingers. His face is flushed rosy, lips bitten red, Rhodey thinks he's full of shit and lets him know it.

“You're full of shit Tones.” He deadpans, grinning when Tony squawks with indignation as he pinches one dusky little nipple hard between his fingers.

“Oh my god, I can't believe I married such an asshole.” Tony whines, kicking him lightly on the thigh when he pinches the other nipple.

“Can I take your shirt off?” He says more gently, soothing his palms over Tony's chest beneath the shirt. There's new scars there, thin and almost innocuous despite the fact that they almost took everything from him. Tony's hands fall away from his face, and he grabs at his shirt, stomach muslces bunching as he curls up to sling his shirt across the room. He flops back down on the couch, arms limp at his side, head turned away.

“Everything you wanted?” Tony whispers, fingers twitching on the cushions when Rhodey rubs over his hipbones, tracing the white lines of an old scar he already knows.

“You're so brave Tones, baby, so brave, look at you, beautiful, so beautiful.” He keeps his tone low, almost reverent as he bends to mouth along the skin surrounding the arc reactor. Beneath him Tony is taking deep gasping breaths, eyes closed tightly, but when he opens them they're clear, warm, and brown, and full of something Rhodey hasn't seen since that terrible day in Afghanistan.

“Rhodey, you can't just say shit like that, my ego is already big enough.”

“There you are, knew you were still in there.” Rhodey continues, undeterred.

“Been here the whole time.” Tony says confusedly, but there's understanding deep down in the depths of his eyes.

“I love you.” He says, letting Tony tug him closer, settling in when strong thighs wrap around his hips. “I love you Tony.” He repeats, burying his face in heated skin and peppering everything laid out in front of him with kisses. “I missed you.”

“I love you too.” Tony says. “I love you too, always, love you Rhodey, my Rhodey, missed you too.” Maybe things will never be the same, and maybe Tony has come back a different man in so many ways than the one he left in the funvee, and maybe he will never get that Tony back-but none of that matters. For the first time in months, Tony looks up at him and the darkness, the deep echoing ghost of the cave is gone, and the arc reactor washes them both blue and Rhodey falls in love all over again.

 

 


End file.
